Steps
by hpottercrazy
Summary: The war is over. Some hearts are hopeful, some aching, and some are just grateful. Though peace for all has been reassured, conflict and pain lingers in some, happiness still yearned for by a few who were broken far before the war began. SS/OC
1. Deep Breath

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. In this story I've ignored Albus Dumbledore's , Sirius Black's, Severus Snape's deaths...everyone but Voldemort that died in the books I blocked them out while reading them and will do so here. Enjoy!

---

She stood behind the stately mahogany chair, still as one of the suits of armour that graced the hallway leading to the Great Hall, and just as morose. When they had all entered the headmasters' office she had greeted them at once with a handshake, a slight, warm smile and sincere nod, then receded back into her stoicism. Considering her circumstances and theirs this was a most unfitting first meeting, which should have been filled with mirth and questions, many questions. It started like this...

~Six Days Ago~

"Well, Harry what does it say?" Arthur Weasley asked from across the Burrow's overcrowded dinner table. Harry Potter unfolded and flatted out the parchment with elegant, slanted writing on it.

"He says that along with Sirius and Remus, there's to be another professor. He says she's filling in for Binns!" , the eyes of his age mates and his own green ones lit up.

"_About_ time!" Ron concluded, "I mean I've missed Hogwarts but another year of Binns? _Please." _he said, rolling his eyes.

"Here, here...he also says she's due to arrive at the grounds a week before term begins...and wants us all there to meet her?"

"Must be a big deal, another celebrity-professor perhaps? Oh Merlin knows we're all due for another Lockhart!" Sirius chuckled.

"All we can do is hope." Harry replied with mock longing.

"One thing I know about Albus is he doesn't make the same mistakes twice, if he wants all of us there, maybe its to do with The Order..." Remus seemed to be speaking more to himself than the rest of them.

Even though Voldemort was gone and all that was lost had returned, what with Sirius' escape from The Veil around a month before the war ended and Albus Dumbledore's even more mysterious resurrection, Remus Lupin was sinking further and further into a state of melancholy. Molly and Arthur attributed it to his unfortunate affliction of Lycanthropy, which weighed heavy on him in every way. These days he seemed more fit for the company of Severus Snape, who they had seen even less of since his recovery from Nagini's bite. To the younger members of The Order, who would have to endure the next eight months in his presence, this was a blessing. However the older members found themselves wondering how this man who had seemed to carry the weight of the world on this shoulders for years and who was now free, remained ever solitary and utterly miserable. Sirius snidely deigned it a force of habit.

"Or maybe it has something to do with Albus?" Tonks chimed in, formerly lost in thought, staring into her onion soup.

"Yeah, like I said, something to do with The Order.", Remus replied , a bit irked.

~Six Days Later~

Severus Snape absent-mindedly adjusted the flaps of this high collar as he looked at himself in his chamber mirror. He did not like secrets, after spending twenty odd years drowning in them he had dared to think that after Voldemort's defeat, he'd be rid of them. Then again he hadn't expected the post-Voldemort world would include Albus Dumbledore, and that man above all others revelled in secrets. His only fault, in Severus' mind. First of all, how did he come to be? Again that is. The frail old legend had sent everyone in The Order a dictated letter of his existence a few days after Harry Potter's triumph, pleading the reader's forgiveness for his absence and fabricated death, but noting that it was all very necessary.

' ... Albus is lucky his faith in that boy was not ill-invested...far too optimistic...Two faults. Well, he is only human I suppose.' He checked the cuffs of his sleeves for stains of Mulberry root he had been preparing for the semester in his lab, when he was satisfied he turned on his heel towards the door to the headmaster's office to meet his new colleague. Prehaps after revealing his mystery professor Albus might be at least temporarily sated with drama.

Upon opening the tall, heavy oak doors the only thing Severus' mind could muster was:

"Oh good God, it _is _a celebrity..."

From a first glance at her face and from fifteen feet away she certainly seemed like someone who be a celebrity, some of her was covered in dense shadow and the large chair she stood behind, but what did show in the light made him question. What kind of Witch Weekly model wears a beat up leather trench coat, and sombre-toned clothes? From looking around most of the males in the group looked sufficiently dumbstruck.

"Ah, Severus my boy!" the old man's voice though now a bit crackled, still contained just as much kindness as ever. Seeing as Albus' was one of the only voices he could remember being directed towards him with warmth, he kept it in the back of his mind. "Better late than never! I'd like to introduce you to my niece, Lady Elena Archer, the new History of Magic professor." After her introduction the lady, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, walked down past her uncle's sizable desk and down the few steps towards the group who were still huddled near the door. She walked like she had gone through this procedure earlier, had shaken all their hands and smiled and then returned to her perch at Dumbledore's side. The group parted so that Severus could make his way through to her, but he stayed where he was. She didn't seem at all fazed at this intentional impropriety and walked straight up to him, to which Severus responded with a repressed gasp.

She reached out her hand and said something, probably "Hello, nice to meet you." and smiled. Severus shook her hand, said what he hoped was "Hello." and nodded curtly. She then turned around and walked back toward her uncle, but then stopped short of the steps and faced them all.

" You may want to find a seat." She said, nodding slightly to the desk behind her and giving them all a gentle look, to what they all took to mean as an apology for what they all knew would be a long and shocking story.


	2. Highly Irregular

Highly Irregular Circumstances

The tall and willowy grey man removed his half-moon spectacles and began cleaning them with a handkerchief, nonchalantly notifying the group of witches and wizards below him that sitting would indeed be a good choice. All did, spreading themselves around the vast quarters lit richly by numerous candles and filled with priceless oddities. Severus, ofcourse, stayed standing and crossed his long sinewy arms across his chest, he was in no mood for his melodrama. Apparently neither was the dark haired porcelain doll of a woman who had taken a seat next to Charlie and Fred Weasley on a plushly-cushioned love seat. She was obviously worn, what with her pale complexion and tired eyes, using what little energy she retained to offer small smiles and even smaller conversation to the pair beside her. Arthur Weasley eased into an over large footstool and eyed the headmaster.

"Nice as it is to meet your family, Albus, I think we'd all like to know what this is all about, no trouble is there?" Molly doubled her husbands' sentiment, but with only the particular raising of her eyebrows.

"Trouble? My friends, is that all I'm to be associated with? I've summoned you all here so that I may tell you enthralling tale of how I died and did not die at the same time." He offered them a twinkle of his eyes, "No doubt by now you have all conceded to the idea that in time I'd tell you, well here is the time."

"But sir, why make us wait?" Harry asked, still a bit hurt from not being told immediately, as in the past when he was one of the old wizard's closest confidants.

"Good things to those who wait, Harry. Besides I've only just procured my niece to be present here, and my story is nothing without her. Now as you all know, on that fateful night in the tower I fell, you already know my motives, Severus' involvement." A small pause "one thing that I did not even tell him though, was that I was certainly not ready to die as I had made it seem. However I knew that for young Harry here to grasp at his true potential, he could no longer have me to rely on, and again I am sorry for putting you all through such _unimaginable_ grief", both he and George smirked at this. "Anyhow, I made previous arrangements with Elena, morbid really. Thanks the intelligence Severus managed to acquire and communicate, both ways, I was aware that the night I'd chosen to take Harry to find a horcrux was also the night a Deatheater siege had been planned. Deatheaters invariably lead to innocent blood spilt-"

"-Professor, are you saying you told Miss Archer to hide in wait for a dead students' body to turn up, use pre-concocted Polyjuice Potion on them and pass them off as you?" Hermione spat out.

" ...But no students died that night." Tonks said to Albus after gawking at Hermione in awe.

"What I'm trying to say is-" Dumbledore replied, unperturbed.

"...you did _what_?!" yelped Sirius, leaping up from the display table he had been leaning on.

" It was a Deatheater, you fool." Severus managed to cut Sirius off, rolling his eyes , "Silvia Eldridge, minor importance, always wondered where she'd run off to... Voldemort assumed she was a deserter. I suppose at the time his triumph was too great for him to muck about hunting down pawns."

"Oh." , uttered most of the congregation, wide-eyed with shock, poor Hagrid looked positively ragged. Albus began again.

"Yes, Miss Granger. It seems you've managed to unravel my painstakingly prepared theatrical debut with one sentence." He truly did seem a bit put-out, " And yes, Severus, thankfully there were no students around and judging from the rag-tag group sent here, sloppiness was inevitable."

"Are you _really that_ sure of yourself, Albus?" Remus asked incredulously.

"No, I'm just _that _lucky, my boy." He replied with crooked smile, " Now as I've said, Miss Archer was indeed instructed to take the transformed body to the foot of the tower and replace it with my own before they all came down to revel in their victory. Though at the end of that fall I was in great pain and in the weakest state in can remember myself being in, my fall was partially broken by a _tenera_ charm placed by her on the ground below." *

"By the time the body changed back into Eldridge, we'd probably been long gone from your funeral." Remus muttered, eyes looking a bit glazed over.

"Yes, I'm sorry I couldn't even tell you, Severus. I just could not run the risk, if for some reason the Crutiatus had been used on you or Veritaserum..."

"It makes sense." Severus replied, he was just glad to have an explanation. At this Miss Elena rose from her seat and shook off her heavy coat.

"After all that, I brought my uncle away so that he could heal, that potion from the cave, whatever it was did quite a number on him." Her voice when addressing the whole crowd was must clearer and stronger than it ought to be. Now in the light she could be seen completely, the perfect aristocratic lady. Tall and willowy like her uncle, sufficiently alabaster, refined delicate features most notable of which were her piercing blue eyes that sat poised and observant, another family trait. The slightly darkened skin under her eyes only served to better frame them in the most romantic of ways, like a subject in a baroque painting, all glowing light and shadow. This woman had the kind of beauty to incite both poetry and madness, seeing her for the first time would have been more of a shock to the Order if they hadn't already been informed that she was Albus' niece. Knowing that such a graceful brilliance existed at all made it easier to accept it somewhere else. Severus however was feeling extremely irksome at this point, this girl had popped out of nowhere only to be revealed as the saviour of Albus Dumbledore? _Albus Dumbledore_? No, he simply would not allow another minute to pass by without at once regaining some predictable footing in this situation, not having it made him very uncomfortable.

"And after this impressive display of heroism, where exactly did you two hide out for nearly _a year_?" he stared straight into her eyes adamant to not be taken in by this Veela, she _had_ to be at least part Veela.

"I have an estate in India." She said simply.

"..._and?"_

_"_And that is where he was." He hated her mask of a face.

"What about you, I take it you stayed with him also?", any detail , some control, he needed it. The rest of the group was beginning to show raised eyebrows at the potions master, this girl had helped keep Albus alive, why was he treating her like a criminal?

"Severus, I know this is a bit of a shock, it is for all of us but there is no need for that accusatory tone." Molly said, issuing a motherly pitch Severus found extremely condescending , but he was too distracted to throw her more than a steely glare.

"No, it makes sense," Elena chimed in, " these are after all a highly irregular circumstances, its suspicious I know, especially since I'm assuming none of you knew I existed 'til now. I assure you however that I've nothing to hide and have no hidden agendas whatsoever." If she was a liar, she was a very good one.

Sirius, who until now had been positively entranced by this woman finally spoke up.

"Speaking of you, Miss. Archer, why _haven't _any of us heard of you before? I'm mean, young socialites usually make it into the Daily Prophet at least once a week." At this Severus was reluctantly glad for Sirius' presence, questions needed to be answered, even if they were asked by an invalid.

"Bribes usually help." She replied with a small glimmer in her eyes, Sirius apparently liked this answer and managed an uncharacteristically small, wobbly chuckle.

"Sirius, you out of everyone has an understanding of how these elite wizarding families operate, appearances are everything." Albus chortled lightly, "But then again, you did end up in The Order, so maybe not so much as you should?" At this Sirius smirked. "I've kept my familial connections to Elena and her father quiet so as to protect them, the upper echelons of magical power very rarely possess liberal sensibilities. Being associated with an eccentric genius can and has proven deadly in the past, especially in the Dark Lord's hay-day."

"So...you must be loaded then." Ron divulged to the statuesque lady, who retorted with her first spontaneous smile of the night. Molly, not so impressed pursed her lips at her impertinent child.

"In a matter of speaking. To answer your question more fully, Severus-" she seemed to have caught the hint from his still searing gaze, which had appeared not to bother her, "- I am a special agent of the Auror's Association, during the war I had some pressing duties to attend to as you might all imagine. When I was away from the estate I had a small group of trusted attendants take care of my uncle. Now that the worst is over, I've come here try out a less stressful career, but also as an additional protective measure against any straggling Deatheaters with a grudge."

"I'm sorry, you're...a bodyguard...for us?", Harry asked sounding doubtful.

"Certainly not, I'm _additional _support, with rogue Deatheaters mucking about you can't have too much, can you?" Harry did not look convinced, she didn't look like the sort who got their hands dirty, and what did "Special Agent" mean? He didn't remember reading anything like that in _The Auror's Academy Preparations Manual_, he decided to consult Hermione when this was done. Albus, who had been observing the whole lot, now saw fit to end any unnecessary inquiry.

" And _that_ , my friends is the whole ball of yarn, I do hope it was all sufficiently satisfying? I myself have found this whole night to be quite informative, but also quite tiring. Remus, Sirius, I trust you will be moving into the castle either tonight or tomorrow?"

" Uh, yes...yes I found my chamber on the way up here...roomy." Sirius replied.

" Perhaps tomorrow, have some things to take care of." Remus looked vacantly at the floor.

" Very well, ofcourse. Elena, will the dungeons do for now? They really aren't as unpleasant as they sound, just ask Severus", he offered a warm smile to the tall dark man, "He seldom leaves them."

'_Fantastic.', _Severus mentally rolled his eyes_._

" I'm sure they're fine, would you mind showing me the way?" she addressed Severus neutrally. He gave her a small nod of agreement and she went up the stairs past the desk and into Albus' solarium where she retrieved an average-sized leather suitcase. Elena did not care that the potions master had seemed to loath her on site, she just wanted to sleep.

As everyone said their good-nights and began filing out of the office in varying states of daze, Severus found himself cursing for the first time how long the walk to the dungeons was.

R&R!

*"_tenera" means soft or tender in Latin, meaning the ground acted as a bit of a shock-absorber as opposed to... *splat*._


	3. Silence

Severus had planned on staying behind to speak with Albus after the meeting, he had not counted on ending the night as a Hogwarts tour guide. He did manage however to produce a look pregnant with as much exasperation towards the old man that his diminuitive facial range could muster before he closed the door behind him. While climbing down the stone spiral steps he could hear the voices of the others at the bottom, chittering away. The girl didn't seem to be interested in talking anymore, which suited Severus just fine. They reached the bottom of the steps and were greeted by expectant looks from each one of them.

"What was _that_?" Tonks directed at Severus, then appearing to remember Elena's presence, added a nervous giggle, "am I right? That was bonkers!" Elena smiled.

"Yes, it was. I'm sorry for all this", her voice now calm and quiet, " but I'm sure by now you're all accustomed to my uncle's penchant for the dramatic, it can be exhausting."

"Well it was nice meeting you anyway, Miss. Archer, you're exciting news." Arthur said, who like the others was obviously in need of time to process the last hour of their lives. Severus, becoming increasingly more agitated, cut them short.

"The Great Hall is where we eat and assemble in general, it is down one floor on the far left." He began walking in the direction of a staircase he could tell was just getting ready to relocate itself. Elena muttered her last good-byes and trotted after him, feeling a bit faint.

"They don't have these at Durmstrang." She uttered, not sounding like she was expecting a response as they left the last moving staircase going to the main floor.

Accordingly, Severus said nothing but kept walking. 'Ofcourse she went to Durmstrang.' He thought dismissively. He was well aware that though the school had gone through a rather dramatic policy and image reform in recent years, it was first and foremost a notorious elitist establishment. The sons of governors and council members went there to learn how to become a member of the exclusive boys-club that was the Ministry of Magic. Girls of the same breed developed highly advanced methods of social warfare and refined their innate ability to remain pretty, and know their place.

The aristocrats of the wizarding world still held ideals from centuries past close to their bosom, sure they had wealth, but what is wealth without a strict hierarchy? Even if one particular family or individual didn't share the same asinine values as the rest, dire social and sometimes mortal consequences were always a possibility. Many still remained loyal to Voldemort after his first "death" years ago and enforced upon themselves a strict code of conduct in order to weed out "traitors", knock them down a notch . In every way possible.

It was like a game to most of them, the rest were just scared into thinking what they should think, saying what they should say, and doing as they should do, as far as Severus could tell. Being at a banquet with them was like walking into a glittering room full of masks. It was one of his least favourite parts of being a double-agent, knowing that everyone around him was just as good a liar as he was.

Very aggravating.

At this point he looked slightly over his shoulder.

" Why have you come here? You are certainly not in need of money, if you want a more leisurely lifestyle you have all the means and more to obtain it."

" I don't like being idle." Her brevity was infuriating, the muscles in his jaw rippled.

"Do you have a policy on making all your sentences five words or less or is that just good training?" he asked silkily.

' Oh, _just shut up!_' she thought.

" Seeing as we are such close, intimate friends I suppose I am expected to divulge my life story." She replied flatly. He cursed himself, in his haste he'd abandoned subtlety, now she had the audacity to make him sound like a fool.

"My apologies." He uttered after a few deep breaths, and said nothing more until the dark corridor they had been walking through began to be lit with faint green light. He stopped short of the Slytherin dormitories entrance and gestured his elegant fingers to the hallway on the left.

"Down there are a few additional quarters, I assume you have your pick of the lot."

"Thank you." Looking him directly in the face for the first time, the dim light shining through the thick, rippled glass of the ceiling played on her face. She looked like something eerie out of a dream. He did not like the way his breath caught in his throat for the most minute of moments.

"Hmm." He answered as he turned on his heels and headed down the hallway on the right.

She took the rooms nearest her and opened the heavy oak door to find a lowly lit and large area decorated in an array of rich colours, nothing too gaudy. Albus knew her well. A modest fireplace was crackling with activity surrounded by two brand new sumptuous-looking chairs and two large and well-stocked bookshelves. To the left was a small kitchen equipped with a handsome dining table big enough for four, on it a radio as well as a record-player, that would come into good use. Walking through a doorway on the left of the living room she found her bed, lavish and inviting in plain ivory sheets. She plopped onto it, it had been a long day.

'They seem amiable.' She thought, 'they ought to though, Uncle is attached to them.'

She knew what came after people found out who her father was, where she grew up or went to school, her uncle's preceding reputation. She knew the expectations and stereotypes, but refused to yield to them, she certainly hadn't in the past, to a degree. It simply would not do, life is too short to walk through on eggshells.

Dragging herself off the bed and into the joining bathroom she lit the candles with her wand and then stood in front of the mirror above the sink, which was also new. Supporting her weight with her hands on the sink she leaned forward inspecting her face. She looked no different than she did this morning, but felt considerably more weathered than when she'd left London.

' It won't do, life is too short.' She conceded before shuffling back to the bed, to blissful sleep.

After the meeting the rest of the Order excepting Hagrid and Kingsley agreed to debrief back at Grimmauld Place.

"Well..." Charlie said, slowly rolling the bottom edge of his beer bottle on the aged glossy polish of the long dining table.

"Hmm." Bill muttered, crossing his well-muscled arms across his broad chest and staring into the bowl of reheated leftover chicken soup just set before him by Molly.

"Well-", she spoke up sounding rather dreamy, "-we know the whole story now, that's good. She seems like a very lovely girl."

"Striking.", Remus summarized, Tonks, who was standing in the corner by the stove furrowed her eyebrows.

"Ha ha, they didn't make professors like that in our day, eh Fred?", finally a smile broke out in the bunch.

"Speak for yourself, George! I don't know about you, but I frequently found myself getting lost in Trelawney's eyes." He said matter-of-factly, then maintained a severe facial expression while opening his eyes widely to resemble the soothsayer's magnifying spectacles. This got a chortle or two out of most of the group.

"Nothing to do but move forward I suppose, what's important is Albus is back." Sirius concluded, raising his glass in a toast. After a few moments of consideration, the rest joined their glasses in a series of small clinks. Molly announced she was going to bed and was soon followed by Arthur. Everyone went home or to their separate rooms within minutes. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny stayed talking in the living room, surrounded by a segment of Ron's collection of auror association manuals. Remus and Sirius remained seated at the table alone.

" I think I'm going to sleep at the castle tonight." Sirius said, Remus cracked a small smirk. "What? Most of my things are already there anyway."

" Don't expect to find her walking around the halls at nearly 3 am." he answered, Sirius gave him a doubtful look. "Please, Sirius!", another small chuckle, "The minute we all walked through that door you looked like you'd had one too many fire whiskeys." After a hard stare at Remus, Sirius spoke.

" I hardly think I lost my composure, Remus.", he sniped dismissively.

"_Composure_? Sirius, you didn't lose it, it just walked away, right out the door!", Remus held his glass in both hands on the table and was now trying to suppress his chuckling as Sirius developed a very flat, unimpressed look on his face, despite his friends' rare display of glee. "I mean have some dignity, man!"

" I'm not some fifteen year old school boy, Remus. You saw her, said so yourself she's "striking", tell me _you_ reacted any differently. Who wouldn't? I feel bad about it to be honest, suppose she gets gawked at all the time.", Remus contemplated for a moment, leaning back in his chair. Staring into his half-filled glass nonchalantly and then suddenly looking like he was somewhere very far away. After a bit he looked up at Sirius, all accusation and smugness gone from his face. He leaned forward, one forearm supporting him on the table, his voice sincere now.

"There's reacting, and then there's _reacting_."

Sirius did not like the way his breath caught in his throat for the very most minute of moments.

'...Skritch skritch skritch....skritch skritch....skritch skritch skritch.....skritch-

"Dammit!"

The infernal noise had finally roused her from a semi-conscious sleep, it had been going on for what felt like an hour and she could no longer strive to fall back into silence. Elena lay sweaty and dissoriented , as she did every morning. She stared at the stone wall in front of her four poster bed. The noise had to be coming from that direction, it sounded so close, like whatever was making it had been right by her ears. Hobbling away from the bedroom she ventured into the living room and to her suitcase.

Flicking the clasps open, she retrieved from it a small silver flask and promptly took a quick swig of its' contents. Grimacing as she always did at the bitter taste, she reluctantly took another larger sip, set it down, and then turned the knob of her quarters' entrance door. The stone beneath her feet was chilly but she didn't mind, it helped cool her off.

'-Skritch skritch'

The sound had started again, she was getting closer, then at the Slytherin's dormitory entrance she found it. A small brown mouse was knawing at the aged wood of the door's bottom corner. She frowned at it and then walked back towards her bathroom where a nice cold shower awaited her.

' Sounded close.', She thought.

--

It was eight in the morning, Sirius Black sat alone at the head table in the Great Hall and found he was happy. He was finally truly at home in the empty hall, not pursued or starved, no anxiety or doubt. This was all very new to him but he felt perfectly accommodating of these brave new changes. Remus be damned, whatever he or the others thought, Sirius refused to remain away from the place which had supplied most of the happy memories of his life. Most especially since his presence here had not been sanctioned by some impending doom of which he felt compelled to impede upon. No, this was not like five years ago. This was home and peace and life at last.

Now it seemed the house elves had finally become aware of his presence and a bowl of porridge appeared before him. Soon followed by tea and juice and a small tub of honey, he was about to pick up his spoon and revel in his solitude when the high doors of the hall creaked open. Her long dark hair was down now, it made a difference. From such a distance Sirius felt it would be awkward to yelp a good morning and instead nodded to acknowledge her. She looked surprised for a moment but then continued into the room , her footsteps echoing the whole way down to the head table. She supposed it would be rude to take a seat at one of the four long student's tables that ran the length of the room. As she walked she quickly braided her hair into a loose plait, as she had nothing to fasten it with.

"Morning." A small smile, he returned the favour and she sat down one chair over.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

"Very, thank you."

" Heh, always thought the dungeons'd be a...creepy place to sleep. Suppose that must be why Sniv- Sssnape loves it so much." She gave him a half-hearted quizzical look.

"Snivsnape?", her porridge appeared and she immediately picked up her spoon.

"Nickname... he doesn't like it."

" He seems like a man who doesn't like much of anything."

"Hmm.", He went back to his breakfast, she was polite enough but seemed to be speaking more for his sake than her own.


	4. Smiles

~Two Days Later~

Severus had not seen Elena Archer since he brought her to her quarters, two nights before. This was due in part to Severus' good timing, but also to the fact that the girl showed an equal enthusiasm for solitude. There were many things he did not like about her, first of all her looks. Anyone who looks like that has gone through life being treated uncommonly and perhaps undeservingly well, he refused to oblige. Secondly, her acting like her presence at the castle was some kind of favour to all of them. Why did she feel she was above reproach? Answering his questions like they were the mere probings of an insolent child. Should he kiss her feet simply because she was the niece of Albus Dumbledore? He noticed now he had been fervently tapping the right arm of his chair with his fingers. He slammed down his copy of "Musings of a Sparrow", which usually calmed him, on the small table by him.

'I should think _not_!' he thought, rising to his feet and pacing back and forth in front of his crackling fireplace, ' I am not at her disposal and she will know it soon enough.' . The thing that annoyed him most was that she was annoying him. At least with Potter or Black, their insolence was blatant and so his rebuttal was justified. Dealing with this one however would be difficult, she had been raised to walk around confrontation and to feign the high road. It was cowardice and infantile and despicable in his opinion.

"Despicable!" he spat. After a few calming breaths and a long stare into the fire he walked back to his armchair and book. Adamant on relaxing as much as he could before those godforsaken first-years arrived.

--

Sirius and Elena had been having breakfast together for the last three days, this was in no way on purpose however. The first day they'd sat at the headtable Sirius had gotten a clear message from the girl. At least for now she was not in need of any company. So he decided to leave her alone and arrived an hour later than the day before, only to arrive in the Great Hall to see her there eating toast with jam. He said good morning but nothing else, neither did she. He began to worry what the rest of the school year was going to be like, would she be indifferent to everyone or was he special? The third morning was the same, he arrived after her, but today they were joined by Remus who had arrived the night before.

Sirius was glad to see his friend there when he opened the great doors, but surprised to see from afar that the two were speaking. Walking down the center aisle he saw her smile and nod, he did the same and then looked down at his breakfast. Then he heard her mention "Renard Gusset", he perked up again and began an animated commentary.

"Morning!" he greeted both of them, and took a seat farthest away from Elena beside Remus, which wasn't that far at all.

"Morning, we were just discussing Renard Gusset's new take on romanticism, do you read him at all?" Remus enquired.

"No, not since school, not really my thing .",he said reluctantly, knowing this would stifle the conversation, which it did. After a few moments of silence he blurted out, " I didn't know you were inclined to be talkative in the morning, especially about a topic as cavernous as nineteenth century philosophy." He immediately wished there was porridge instead of toast and eggs in front of him so he could stuff his face in it. Looking to his right at her he found that she had a genuine smile on.

" I'm sorry, I know I've been a bore the past few days, it's just that I haven't been feeling very well 'til now.", her gaze was steady, which made him want to look away.

" No, not a bore.", he said as he began cutting his eggs, "just quiet, didn't mean anything by it." His breath lost for a second.

" I'm sorry, I meant to ask you both earlier, what will you be teaching?" she small smile still there as she stuck her fork into some egg.

" Charms, my predecessor finally decided to retire after fifty years!"

"Fifty? My, that's patient."

"Certainly." Remus agreed.

" I'm the new Defense professor."

" How do you think that will be received by the parents?", she asked then quickly apologized, " I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, just that you've only been formally pardoned since the war ended. Regardless of your innocence there is still a stigma, I'm sorry." She said looking away and taking a sip of her orange juice, discretely rolling her eyes at herself and her tactlessness. Sirius was pleased to find that he didn't mind her saying that at all.

" You say sorry alot .", he said still looking at her, now beginning to feel himself again drawn to her as he had been three nights before, " I actually don't care, I'm just...happy. I'm too happy to care." He ended with a smile, equally directed to her as to himself.

" Well, you are a lucky man of late. It's only natural." Remus chimed in, offering a congratulating smile which Sirius took as having multiple levels of meaning. He wanted his friend to also be happy again. If it was going to be in this capacity, however, Sirius would have to learn to suppress his aggravation. He never liked receiving others' observations of him, good or bad. It made him feel for some reason that he did not have control of himself . That his actions were more blunt than intended and fascinating enough to yield a reaction. If he indeed did end up feeling for this woman what Remus thought he already did, he did not want to come off to her as some indiscrete, unrefined emotional amateur. And that was _if_, of course.

"Hmm." He answered, shooting the other man an unappreciative glare.

"Ofcourse." Elena agreed, now working on her toast.

The doors creaked open again and Sirius had to contain an irritated moan. Severus walked briskly down the length of the room and sat at the end of the head table without the slightest hesitation.

"Morning, Severus.",Remus offered when the other two simply continued about their business. Severus acknowledged his existence by casting him an indifferent sideways glance.

" And what about you, Ms. Archer? What drew you to fill in for Binns, apart from Albus' persuasion ofcourse ? ", Sirius enquired, expecting her to ask to be addressed as Elena, she did not. However she answered with the predictable amount of amiable conversation.

"Oh, well History's always been very..." she went on explaining and Sirius listened, showing pleasant enthusiasm. He did hear some of the words but found himself focusing harder on how as she went on his breaths deepened and face grew a bit warm. Brave new changes indeed. With his peripheral vision he noticed Remus was looking in his direction, elbow on the table and resting his face in his hand. He dared not look directly at Remus lest he get a glance of the smug gaze he knew was plastered all over the man's face.

'Sod off, Moony.' He thought.

Across the way Severus was making many attempts to drown out the noise of the tables' other occupants. However despite himself he caught a few bits of the girls' credentials: general interest in school subjects, overall good performance in all, attendance at the illustrious Stone Academy after Durmstrang ; recruited straight out of seventh year. As she went on he found his head slowly turning toward the activity beside him, Black looked like he was trying his earnest not to seem overeager. He turned his attention downwards when his eye caught the distinctive cover calligraphy he knew so well. Laying beside the girls' plate was a worn copy of "Musings of a Sparrow", Severus immediately redirected his attention to his eggs and tea, highly irritated.

By the time she'd finished, apparently so had Severus. He stood up with just as much fervour as when he'd sat down and left the hall without a word. Sirius was glad, whenever that man opened his mouth he felt morally compelled to shut it. One thing he did know for sure was that the woman sitting down the table was beginning to stir up a certain reaction in him he hadn't known since he was a boy. Sirius had not been in the business of wanting to impress the opposite sex for years. However he was quite sure it still did not involve hexing esteemed colleagues across the room.

'_Impress_? Don't get ahead of yourself.', He commanded.

Elena stood up then gracefully pushed her chair back under the table with one hand. Then facing them, inclined her head slightly forward in their direction to imply she was taking her leave. This gesture and the manner in which she performed it was one that Sirius found immensely endearing. So much so that when he nodded back he did so with a most sincere sentiment of a prompt reunion. Which seemed strange to him since they _were_ living in the same castle...so much for an uncomplicated, peaceful life.


	5. Pale Light

*This is a short one, however the next couple of chapters following will be longer and be uploaded faster. Enjoy!

Pale Light

The first month of classes was over and as custom, the schools' faculty members gathered in the teacher's lounge to celebrate the beginning of another year. This year was different though, as it was more of a meet-and-greet than anything. One ex-con, outed werewolf, random relative, and a trophy-collector of epic proportions . Horace Slughorn had returned to Hogwarts as its newest Herbology professor and was beside himself with the thrill of it all. So many scandalous personas, so little time. Apparently his zeal was such that he'd lost any compliance for the rules of personal boundaries, both physical and verbal. He now stood nearly nose to nose with Sirius Black asking him the most impertinent and probing of questions. Sirius' only answer to them was to look of confusion and a tiny trace of fear.

"Alright, my boy. I see, playing your cards close to the chest,eh? No worries no worries, I'll have the secret of your Azkaban escape soon enough!", he reluctantly walked away after Sirius gave him a nervous smile, "All in time , just need time." The stout wizard muttered to himself with a look of sheer determination as he wrung his hands together. Sirius quickly made his way across the room to engage the demure Miss. Archer in conversation.

"Merlin, that was horrible." He breathed when he reached his destination beside her at the large fireplace.

"Sorry, what was horrible?" she seemed to have just snapped out of a trance as she slowly turned to face him.

"Horace Slughorn, you didn't see him? He's been badgering me since I set foot in the room!"

"Well you do come with quite the extraordinary credentials, ." she responded just barely managing to sound interested. This agitated Sirius a bit, the first few days of the week she'd remained very talkative and involved at the head table . But as the days went on she began to resume an indifferent disposition, especially towards Sirius. Was she blowing hot and cold? If so this year would be most trying for Sirius decided three days before when he witnessed her wistfully sorting books in her classroom that he felt...attached. Despite logic he knew in his heart that her flimsy patterns of behaviour would not dissuade his sturdy ones.

"Are you not feeling well again?" he politely enquired with as little genuine concern as he could muster.

"Hmm?" she shot back looking surprised that he was talking.

" I don't mean to pry, just that on Saturday you said you hadn't been feeling well and that was why you were so quiet before." He now directed his gaze to some indiscriminate point in the center of the room to seem like this was a passing thought.

She looked at him now truly for the first time. Elena did not like what she saw, the handsome man's grey eyes were pausing for a response. He reminded her of _him_, which she also did not like and which also meant trouble. A smile.

"Just lost in my own thoughts, I don't mean to be rude. I think that's a trait Sybill and I have in common." At this Sirius gave a small chuckle.

"Right, Sybill." He seemed to be satisfied with her answer, good. After their exchange was a bit of silence which she used to once again scan the room and consequentially caught the spiteful gaze of Severus Snape. Elena guessed he'd been watching the whole thing, probably reading their lips too. He was a spy after all. When the dark pillar of a man appeared to decide his sentiment had been sufficiently received he cast her the smallest of patronizing smirks and redirected his attention back to the conversation her uncle and McGonagall were having. A few years ago she might have cared that the prejudiced man found her and Sirius' pathetic banter laughable, but she didn't have the time or energy to waste correcting his skewed perspective. She hadn't noticed until now but Sirius had moved on to join Remus and a few others by the bookshelves. Coincidentally this made her eye catch a small dark figure in the sky through the window situated nearby. After a few more seconds of watching her assumption was confirmed that it was indeed an owl.

Sirius saw her walking towards their group looking rather peaceful , maybe even happy, and he quickly made space in the circle for her. However she walked straight past and stood at the window watching out of it eagerly. It was only a few moments later when he saw a small shadow fall over her face and torso that he realized she was waiting to receive an owl. People were beginning to filter out of the room now, it was nearly one in the morning. He closed the space.

Opening the clasp on the side of the window she gently swung it open for the bird. It was a fair size, stony grey and tame. She was familiar with it obviously, stroking the feathers on its left foot and uttering something to it, probably a greeting by name. The owl obliged with a quiet cooing while she untied a small box wrapped in brown paper from around the bird's wing. A small note written on the front side, she read it and produced a puckish smirk then bid the owl goodbye and turned to leave herself. Sirius knew better than to follow her, he did have _some _pride for godsake. Severus, abundant in pride but a slave to curiosity _did_ follow. Just a few steps behind the girl and Sinistra, who was engaging the her in conversation, allowed him to fall just within earshot:

"Have you been down to Hogsmeade yet, dear? It's lovely in the fall, fantastic cafe by the name of "The Chipped Saucer"...what's that there, from a _boyfriend?"_ she asked playfully, Sinistra really did need to learn to pace herself with her mead in the future.

"Hmm." Elena confirmed neutrally with a small smile on her face as the two passed out the door. At this Severus decided that he'd like to stay in the lounge just a bit longer and diverted his stride towards the fireplace near the door. Getting his attention wouldn't be difficult, Black was like a bored child and could be easily provoked by the slightest gesture. As Black and his three companions passed him by Severus shot him an indignant sneer.

"Anything the matter, Snape?", Sirius naturally enquired with the predictable sarcasm. When the shorter of the two did not get an answer he stayed put instead of leaving with the rest. Remus noticed and tried to intervene.

"It's late, could you two give it a rest?" he said pre-emptively .

Surprisingly this made Severus check himself, he realized now that all he had to say was that Black was wasting his time with the girl, that she was spoken for. Now that he thought on it he reproached himself for compulsively indulging in such a petty urge. So what if Black's attempts to regain normalcy in his life were without proper footing?

'I'm sure I must have something better to do than _this_.' He thought, now noticing the two men in front of him still stood with expectant looks on their faces. In addition, he felt like his chest was a bit tight with his unspoken, unknown words.

"Same old, same old, eh?" Sirius finalised with an infuriating mix of pity and sincerity uncharacteristic of his usual cocksure arrogance. Severus for the life of him could not produce a retort. Black watched as the taller, darker man silently but smartly made his way out of the room. "The war is over...Severus, and in case you hadn't noticed, so are the 70's." Sirius beckoned nearly pleadingly.

Severus kept his pace down to the dungeons.


	6. Past and Present

Past and Present

She stepped into her chambers fatigued and decided that much socializing was now well out of her realm of capacity, it took more energy than she had expected. The small package in her hands was quickly unwrapped and set on her dining table. She contemplated the diminutive silver flask: disappointingly smaller than the one she kept on her person on a regular basis. Either Rick was feeling particularly sadistic or she had progressed much further and much faster than she would have expected. The aches set in while she made a cup of tea for herself but she chose to ignore them a bit, pain or not atleast for now it would remind her that despite popular opinion, she was indeed alive. She still had purpose.

The leaves had steeped enough after half an hour to pour the steaming, murky water out into an awaiting cup. However the bones of the hand holding the tea pot now radiated heat and cold and felt as though they should have made a creaking sound as she flexed her fingers. Abandoning the hot comfort she walked the short distance back to her table and picked up the flask. Uncapping it she brought it under her straight and delicate nose, the usual dominant scent of tanghula leaf venom was overpowering in this batch. Indeed Rick had been kind not uncharacteristically conniving and had it concentrated. She would have to dilute it before drinking or risk sinking into a heady, limp haze until Tuesday. The ticking grandfather clock across the room read twelve after twelve. She needed the concoction soon.

'I wonder if the labs are locked even to professors after hours...',she thought. Heading for her door she picked up the heavy iron skeleton key designated to all members of staff.

Severus sat in his office looking over class plans and exam outlines with the vivid recount of his non-conversation with Black. He never imagined after the war he'd be _this _bored as to incite the annoyance of such a trivial man...without provocation that is, he'd expected his Hogwarts duties to be enough. The last twenty years they had supplemented his cover persona, now he was faced with accepting them as part of his new identity as...well... himself. He was not sure he liked his identity based on the association on a daily basis with children he could not stand and colleagues, save a few, who could not keep his genuine attention for more than a couple of moments. He was at a crossroads, to sincerely invest in his past he was so accustomed to or begin again.

'As if I have a life to begin again...' he thought more pensively than resentfully. To both an outside observer and the man himself, Severus Snape had never been more than a medium for greater and more fearsome beings. His intellect had kept him alive these long years but only in the service of a greater good. He had learnt nearly nothing about himself since the age of eighteen, ofcourse excluding the essential personality traits, bodily reactions and such he had used to keep himself the perfect spy. He could monitor his facial expressions as if he were looking in a mirror, suppress rage and disgust in times of dire need...and yet he didn't even know what food he liked best, which time of year he preferred. Had he ever even wondered what life after the war would be like? If there would even _be _life to live?

Surrounded by his texts and vials and scales he stewed for a while til he heard footsteps outside the classrooms' heavy oak door.

Unfortunately Severus appeared to be partial to applying his own security measures to the labs, her key did not work and if _that _did not, _alohomora _would certainly be a lost cause. A deep sigh escaped her as she decided to take what potion she had now and dilute the bit in her hands tomorrow morning. A few steps were taken in the direction back to her room when she paused midstride, hearing movement inside the classroom. Should she keep walking? No, that would look even more strange than turning up here in the middle of the night—

"Yes?" Severus looked clearly perturbed and predictably unwelcoming, "Miss Archer, what business could you possibly have here at this hour?"

"Severus, yes sorry.", She replied a bit sheepishly, this was a man who revelled in control, she would give it to him if it would stall his unpleasantness long enough for her to use the stations, "I'm feeling a bit off at the moment, not asking for a potion I have my own." She breathed out before brandishing the flask casually at chest level. "However I made a concentrated solution so it'd last me the year , have these damned headaches frequently...this stuff is the only thing that does the trick-"

"Spare me, Miss Archer. If you would like it done quickly, as I would, hand it over and come back in half an hour. However I warn you not to expect this particular brand of leniency from me in the future, I prefer my nights to be my own-"

"It _is _kind of you, Severus, but I'm afraid its rather tricky. Are you familiar with South Battum Pond Algae? Terribly unstable, only found in one place on Earth: Pendul District of Bengal as a matter of fact...". She was being too talkative, it was plain to both of them that she was desperate to do the job herself and now. "...long story short, as vastly more superior as your skills are to mine, I am, I'm assuming the more experienced with this certain brew."

'She has just _invented_ an algae.' He thought plainly staring at her with intented blankness, if there _were_ some rare breed of fungi growing half way around the world he was confident there was no reason why he _wouldn't _know about it. 'She knows what I am thinking and is hoping for mercy, immediately.' He observed the gathering perspiration on her face, slight tremors, uncharacteristic of the stoic, studied person he had known the past four weeks...Polyjuice!

"Very well, enter. As a reference for the future I do not appreciate mocking and plainly disingenuous flattery. I assume you know you're way around a station if you brewed that "dizzyingly complicated" concoction yourself." He turned and walked to his class desk instead of receding back to his office. If she was in the middle of transforming into whoever she really was, straggling Deatheater or enemy-spy—'No...not Polyjuice.', he realized with a small sigh. She was too calculating, if she were indeed trying to ward off a transformation she would not be dim enough to seek out refuge in the company of the resident potions master , someone who could decipher the potent potion by a mere sniff from across the room...he really was too bored.

Nonetheless he found himself curious as he sat down , she really did seem to know what she was doing: setting to work immediately, now forgetting their pleasantries from before, she uncorked the flask and began heating a cauldron full of recently poured lavender water, a primary ingredient in healing remedies. Undoubtedly the girl knew that he was watching, the fact that she consented to his being there was both a sign of submission to his authority and a silent statement of reassurance to him that she _wasn't _sneaking about with any dark potions. Being this close in proximity to a potions master whilst reassembling a brew guaranteed he would be able to at the very least categorize it. She was back to determined silences, pouring her mixture into some spiral vials over a flame then deftly slicing some lotus root she procured from his stores.

'She is indeed desperate, who knows what she would have done to get in here.' Whatever she was preparing, he still couldn't tell exactly, it was clearly of potent mix and nothing near a headache reliever. At any rate he had secured his belief that she was not a threat to himself or the school and as a consequence her matters and ways had no significance to him. Though if he happened to get bored again tomorrow he might consult Albus, should make for a good story if nothing...

The girl finally looked up to Severus' penetrating gaze after another quarter of an hour clutching the vase-sized container of newly formed solution as if she needed it for balance. She obviously had to get back to her own chambers immediately. Severus had already decided to let her leave unscathed with his questions that would have been asked only to render a potentially entertaining response out of her. That and she looked spent...that and he was also quite tired too.

She stared. Perhaps trying to decipher his thoughts on the bottle she held?

He stared back.

"Good _night _, Miss Archer." he said, enunciating the general inconvenience of her presence there.

"Thank you." She answered, at the same time with her eyes conveying the plea for him to not bring up this night in the future. Still looking a bit shaken she made her way out of his classroom, taking slow and careful strides along the way.

Sirius had to wait until midday the next day to see Elena, she was strolling along the second floor corridors with a book open in both her hands near level to her face. She seemed either scarcely aware or merely used to the stares she accumulated as she passed a group of sixth year boys jostling and grinning about cockily. This brand of disconnection he had noticed in her several times before and decided that it wasn't that she was particularly unfriendly, just that she happened to be perfectly content without any company. Despite his realization he sped up his gate , strangely self conscious of the manner of his stride.

"Elena!" he dared, "good read?"

"Good enough." She replied casually , looking back down to the pages after acknowledging him.

"I hadn't the chance to ask you last night, how are you finding the Hogwarts experience so far?" He was sure he had already asked this but would not step back now.

"Suppose you could answer that same question?", she was unusually chipper today.

As she paused for his reply with a small, expectant smile he observed side-long the colour of her irises: turquoise. When he didn't take his turn she continued.

"The children are lovely, very different breed from Durmstrang. Probably because there is a vastly smaller population of...well...my type here. You know what I mean." He avoided delving into the dangerous topic by offering a small chuckle.

She was dressed in the same manner as always. He'd expected when he first met her that come the first term she would turn to a more formal and less Remus-like wardrobe as he had, adopting smart vests and pressed trousers to replace his former ruddy rags. However for the time being it seemed that oversized sweaters and skirts were all she owned.

"I like the kids too." He finally added, "although if I ever did have a hellion in one of my classes I wouldn't feel I really had the right to reprimand them with _my_ reputation." He said this with the purpose of arousing her interest in him as a person instead of a professor.

"Oh?"

"Grades weren't the problem!" he reassured her, " apart from them I was just an overall degenerate..." he went on to reiterate with impressive zeal tales of his reckless youth and she responded periodically with pleasant commentary and bell-like, light laughter. As he went on he was happy to find that she hadn't yet excused herself to regain her solitude. He also noticed how alert and warm she was today, he couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with his presence at all... "What about you? Model student or disgrace?", He asked, hinting with a charming grin at his knowledge that is was an obvious question to which she would answer of the former. At this she returned her gaze to the book she had since closed at the beginning of their conversation. To her surprise she answered truthfully.

"Now that I think on it I'd say a bit of both, mostly the latter though. The school work bored me terribly." Sirius was genuinely surprised.

"You? Ha, you seem like the type to mind your own. Though no doubt the boys must have given you some trouble." He couldn't help but adding the last statement despite its bluntness. She gave him a look of mild surprise and he instantly erased any semblance of puckishness from his face and hoped she wouldn't be too shocked by his familiarity. Though when she seemed to have dismissed it he felt a pang of disappointment. 'So many contradictions!' he thought, he most certainly was going mad.

"Well I spent a fair bit of time in the HeadMistress' Office, lets say."

"Really?", he replied incredulously, "I always thought girls raised like you were--", he stopped himself. She repaid him with a small grin which caught him in his chest.

"Girls like me...ironically school was the only place I _was_ allowed to do as I pleased. A silent agreement between peers and some staff." She looked thoughtful as Sirius looked gleeful that she kept pouring out personal tidbits. This was vastly more candid than she had ever been in the past month, he bravely surged forward.

"How do you mean?"

"Well...outside school I...we _all _had to worry about--other things. My peers and I were perpetually supervised... oh I know it sounds like every other teenagers' experience but our circumstances and consequences were-- different." She noted vaguely.

"I know." He cut in, "I'm a Black, though I'm sure we weren't high up enough to really have entered _that _world."

"Hmm." She added neutrally.

"So, what sort of trouble got you into the dreaded 'Head's' Office? What was your crown jewel of degeneracy?" he asked brightly. She seemed to actually be giving it thought, giving thought to a seemingly overstepping-question _he _had asked! After a few moments, and again despite her usual furtiveness replied.

"Fireworks. Big ones. Head Mistress' Office in the towers." She didn't make eye contact.

"MERLIN!" he gawked, confounded. "Who did you have? Karkaroff hadn't yet been instated yet had he?"

"Dolores Umbridge." She replied with disdain, "I trust you're familiar." He answered with outrageous laughter. "We, my friends and I, couldn't see for a few hours after that and the detention was _horrendous_ but I maintain it was _completely _worth it...she only had herself to blame." she mentioned with a uncalculated grin.

"Miss! I was wondering if you could help-" a Hermione-wannabe third year girl came running up after them asking for clarification on an assignment. Elena was soon whisked away to an awaiting group of students, mostly boys, who were in desperate need of assistance as well. She waved apologetically with a small smile at him and said she would see him later, perhaps dinner.

"Alright then, cheers." He replied warmed and shining watching her walk down the hall with her throng of pupils. 'That's it.' He conceded cheerfully, ' I'm in love!' Not sure if he meant it or not he chuckled lightly and turned towards Remus' office for a visit, but decided to keep Elena's tale for himself, atleast for the time being.

He fancied a spell in The Three Broomsticks after supper.

Elena had, despite her most valiant efforts that afternoon, fallen asleep in the library again. She sat in her chair slumped over onto one of the long, narrow tables running the width of the large chamber. The dose had worked better than she'd expected, better than any dose before. Though as a consequence of her sudden reclaiming of old and nearly forgotten vivacity came a kind of fatigue she usually only felt after a whole weeks' worth of work at her former occupation. However inconveniently timed the sleep was it was welcome, it was a deep and heavy kind that she usually did not have the privilege of partaking in.

In her dream she saw a white and grey sky, heard light summer rain and felt the vague memory of the drops spittering onto her shoulders and arms. Blurred but close by she saw the narrow marble columns of her father's garden-viewing pavilion and even more incohesive patches of light, face and clothing. She did not see him smile but remembered it had happened, then a petrifyingly vivid image out of the serene detachedness of the dream. It seemed magnified and far too close to her, she wanted to step back from it but could not, nor could she close her eyes or look away. She simply had to endure the thing, the modestly-sized diamond glittering furiously, the skinny gold band practically vibrating with light and it would not go away. She felt herself in the dream panicking and gasping like she was drowning...

Eyes open.

She did not move but breathed hard against the polished wood of the table gazing down its' length, her fingertips grasping at its' surface.

Sidelong she saw a faint white shaft of light coming in from one of the long and narrow windows from in between two bookshelves.

'Nearly six.', She thought, calming with each inhale, 'dinner.'

She rose slowly and found that her aches were still gone, she did not fell as tired as she'd thought she would by now. Determined to not be shaken by the nightmare she hurried off to fill her growling stomach and maybe even join in some more pleasant conversation.


End file.
